White sugar is one of the great enemies of health. It is composed of sucrose and glucose crystals, it does not provide vitamins or minerals, only empty calories. There are studies that link it to overweight, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended in 2015 to reduce the consumption of sugar in both children and adults, so that it represents a maximum of 10% of the total caloric intake , that is, 50 grams. The same report also noted that “a reduction below 5% in total caloric intake would produce additional health benefits .” 5% would be 25 grams, equivalent to approximately six tablespoons of coffee.
It must be remembered that not only do the foods and beverages to which we add sugar when preparing or consuming them contain sugar, but there is hidden sugar in salty preparations that we do not expect as in ketchup, which surprisingly contains about 4 grams of sugar . Not to mention ultra-processed foods , which can contain huge amounts of this substance. For this reason, we must always read the list of ingredients of the food products we buy, to unmask that hidden sugar and be aware of what we are going to put in our mouths. Hidden sugar can appear on the label with these names: dextrose, dextrin, maltodextrin, invert sugar, glucose syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), maple syrup, agave syrup …
At this point, you may have been won over by the siren songs of those who advocate healthy alternatives to sugar. Total, put to add sugar to the coffee, that this is “healthy” right? Well, we are sorry to tell you that brown sugar, panela, honey, agave syrup, maple syrup, coconut sugar, whole cane sugar and icing sugar are mainly composed of sugar and have the same effect as white sugar , that is, cause an insulin spike. In addition, consuming them will make your palate more and more used to sweet flavors and not appreciate the real taste of food.
The recommendation of nutritionists is that the less sugar, the better. Gradually accustom the palate to natural sweetness and, in any case, sweeten with fruits such as bananas, figs and dates.
